Making Mistakes That Steal Your Time Can Hurt Your Business

It's easy to make a mistake. It's when you make the same mistake over and over again that you need to very seriously make some changes. You see mistakes can steal your time and, in a short period of time it can also hurt your business.

1. Exactly what is the problem - Sometimes it is hard to know what has gone wrong, especially if a client is very upset and not communicate concerns in a clear manner. You therefore need to be able to gather enough information that you can actually summarize the problem in one sentence of a few words.

2. Why is it being made? - Is the mistake one that originates from human or computer error. Perhaps a piece of software has a virus or was not customized properly. Maybe a staff member has not had the proper training. You need to get to the source of the problem in order to correct it.

3. Do you need to get help to fix this? - Often contracting or consulting with a professional will help you to not only understand the mistake and how it was made but also the best options for correcting it. If you cannot easily and quickly fix the mistake, seek help.

4. Who needs an apology? Have clients or others been offended or treated badly because of this mistake. The words "I'm sorry" will go a long way when it comes to customer service. In fact, when you apologize, the other person will likely breath a sigh of relief and, seeing you as a humble individual, will likely let go of a lot of their negative emotions.

5. How can you prevent this from ever happening again? Make sure that you have a fool-proof plan in place so that the mistake will not occur in the future so that you and the clients are not subjected to the problem again.

Imagine how you might apply this to a problem with water in the living room. First you would need to discover what the problem is. Perhaps there is a leak. Discover where the leak is and you might discover a broken pipe. Now you will need to decide if it is best to call the plumber. Perhaps the leak is dripping into the condo below you and an apology would be appropriate. Finally, you and the plumber will need to make a plan to repair the pipe so that you do not have future problems.

Now that you have these five steps you have a template to resolve mistake that might occur in your business.in the future.